TM

LTO PROMO PLANNER2016

© 2015 Technomic Inc.

Opportunities

˃ Consider a super-limited LTO to generate

robust excitement and traffic around holidays

˃ The presidential election might offer great opportunity for fun LTOs

˃ Extended promotional periods like Oktoberfest

present opportunities for experimental and themed LTOs

˃ Getting in early on emerging events like National Eat Your Veggies Day could prove fruitful down the road

˃ Leverage widely appealing events like ugly sweater season with new

products and engaging in-store events

˃ Stand out from competitors by employing quirky, unexpected promos© 2016 Technomic Inc. 2

© 2015 Technomic Inc.

FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT PARTIES NATIONAL WAFFLE DAY

RIO 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES

5…1… 24AUG 2016

OTHER EVENTS THIS MONTH2: National Ice Cream Sandwich Day8: National Frozen Custard Day10: National S’mores Day25: National Banana Split Day

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PromotionsWHO?˃ Segment: CDR˃ Cuisine: bar and grill, chicken, burger,

BBQ, pizza, Mexican

WHAT?˃ Bar specials, delivery, catering, party

packages, contests

EXAMPLES:˃ Twin Peaks: Package included free draft

board and complimentary chips and queso˃ T.MAC: Package included free queso or

guacamole along with a commissioner hat and winner’s trophy

Casual-dining brands continue to see considerable opportunities around Fantasy Football. Whatwas once a roughly monthlong promotional window in August has grown to include the back halfof July as well. What hasn’t changed much is what’s generally on offer: food and drink specials,access to Wi-Fi and quality TV programming, free accompaniments like draft boards andincentives such as gift cards for party hosts. As noted last year, offering bounceback deals toencourage guests to return to watch football in season is a good method of increasing patronageand loyalty longer term.

AUG

1…

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PromotionsWHO?˃ Segment: QSR, CDR˃ Cuisine: bar and grill, chicken, burger,

sandwich, BBQ, pizza

WHAT?˃ Bar specials, delivery, LTO news, contests

EXAMPLES:˃ Red Hot & Blue: Support USA in-store

promo offered prizes like free food and drink

Bar and grills are well-positioned to drive traffic for customers interested in watching the 2016Olympics away from home. Large quick serves with sponsorships and tie-ups can leverage thegames, as can chains with a focus on sports-friendly delivery fare like pizza and wings. But there’salso an aspect of the unknown to the Olympics that can make it a great opportunity for anyrestaurant. A timely event or circumstance can present brands with a great opportunity togenerate buzz—think #SochiProblems or Jamaican bobsled team. Be ready to think up creativeand timely adult beverages, and have something prepared for the potential of a big event likean underdog who goes for gold against an undeniable favorite. Opening ceremonies are also abig draw, and since many folks watch at home, it’s a good night to promote delivery.

AUG

5…

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PromotionsWHO?˃ Segment: QSR, FCR, MSR˃ Cuisine: coffee café, bakery café,

sandwich, dessert, snack

WHAT?˃ Deals, LTO news, product awareness,

contest

EXAMPLES:˃ Bruxie: added a new Lemon Meringue

Bruxie with Berries to its Secret Menu in honor of the special day

It’s a bit surprising more operators have yet to embrace National Waffle Day considering howtrendy waffles have been on menus in recent years (mentions of ‘waffle’ are up a staggering23.5% on top chain menus over the past five years*). Yet with all the new chicken-and-waffledishes and waffle sandwiches to hit the market, there are just a handful of chains celebrating thisfood holiday. With relatively sparse competition, operators with compelling deals and somesocial media promotion should be able to drive traffic among regular patrons and first-timeguests alike.

AUG

24

*Increase in “waffle” mentions from Q3 2010 to Q3 2015 per MenuMonitor

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LABOR DAY NATIONAL COFFEE DAY

NATIONAL CHEESEBURGER DAY

185 2919

TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY

SEPT 2016

OTHER EVENTS THIS MONTH3: College Football Kickoff16: National Guacamole Day28: Drink Beer Day

17…

OKTOBERFEST

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SEPT

5

PromotionsWHO?˃ Segment: QSR, CDR, MSR, RMS˃ Cuisine: bar and grill, family casual, steak,

chicken, burger, BBQ

WHAT?˃ Deals, bar specials, catering, party

packages

EXAMPLES:˃ Miller’s Ale House: holiday special of an

order of wings and a pitcher of beer for $14.95

˃ Chevys Fresh Mex: one-day offer of $5 house margaritas

The culmination of a three-day weekend many say marks the unofficial last day of summer,Labor Day is prime for marketing value deals and the simple convenience of lettingsomeone else do the cooking. Restaurants can promote deals for the entire weekend, butmany choose to offer the best pricing for dine-in occasions on Monday only. This is also agreat opportunity to drive delivery and catering sales with value bundles and menu newssuch as pizza LTOs and new wing flavors.

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PromotionsWHO?˃ Segment: CDR˃ Cuisine: bar and grill, burger, sandwich

WHAT?˃ Happy hour, bar specials, LTO news,

featured items, contests

EXAMPLES:˃ Red Robin: added Oktoberfest LTOs like

the Brat-topped UberBurger, Cheesy Beer Brat, Great Northern Poutine Fries and Samuel Adams OctoberFest

A weekslong festival that kicks off in September and has the largest impact on weekends,Oktoberfest is the annual German celebration with beer as a primary focus. Anyrestaurant with beer available can tap into the Oktoberfest event season—if nothing elsethan by featuring fall-inspired brews like märzens and pumpkin beers. Increasingly, thisevent has been a time for casual-dining chains to showcase indulgent LTOs that make useof German specialties like Brats and pretzels. Beyond food and drink, restaurants can hostlive music, feature contests and encourage guests to dress up for the occasion.

SEPT

17…

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SEPT

19

PromotionsWHO?˃ Segment: QSR, FCR, CDR, MSR, FDR˃ Cuisine: bar and grill, steak, burger,

sandwich

WHAT?˃ Deals, LTO news, contests

EXAMPLES:˃ Black Angus: Steakhouse Bacon

Cheeseburger and 16-ounce beer for $10˃ Becks Prime: free medium drink with

purchase of any 100% Certified Angus Beef cheeseburger

National Cheeseburger Day remains one of the most popular national food events of the year.Deals are widely available at chains and independents nationwide, consisting largely of BOGO-type offers, free drinks with burger purchase and beer-and-a-burger bundles. Since competitionis heavy, timing the launch of new LTOs with National Burger Day can help operators stand outfrom the crowd. And with this food event falling on a Sunday in 2016, casual-dining operatorscan use the occasion to add to the excitement of gameday for football fans.

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PromotionsWHO?˃ Segment: QSR, MSR˃ Cuisine: seafood, dessert, snack

WHAT?˃ Freebies, deals, bounceback offers, kids

eat free, featured items

EXAMPLES:˃ Long John Silver’s: talk like a pirate = free

fish tender, dress like a pirate = free fish tender basket

˃ Krispy Kreme: talk like a pirate = free donut, dress like a pirate = dozen free donuts

Talk Like a Pirate Day is one of the few—maybe the only—national event days to emerge ashighly marketable for seafood chains like Long John Silver’s. While certainly open forparticipation for a wide variety of restaurants, particularly snack and dessert brands, seafoodremains the obvious choice. What’s most popular are freebies for talking or dressing like apirate—a great way to draw lapsed guests and those who haven’t patronized a brand before. Thisfamily-friendly occasion also works as a draw for midscale concepts—a fun excuse for a nightout for kids and parents alike.

SEPT

19

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PromotionsWHO?˃ Segment: QSR, FCR, MSR, RMS˃ Cuisine: coffee café, bakery café, beverage

WHAT?˃ Freebies, deals, bounce-back offers, LTO

news

EXAMPLES:˃ Dunkin’ Donuts: free hot or iced coffee on

National Coffee Day plus free coffee the day after for loyalty club members and four additional free coffees to guests who join the club during the promo

National Coffee Day is easily one of the biggest deal days among the year’s food events. Freebiesare the calling card for most chains on this annual fall event, and are available from brandsranging from c-stores to QSRs to coffee cafés. As is often the case, it makes sense to structureany freebie offer in such a way as to draw repeat business—whether it’s tied to a bouncebackoffer, part of an incentive to sign up for a loyalty club, or something else. And while notnecessarily a trend, it’s hard to predict which of the major players will participate in any givenyear, so smaller chains should prepare for the possibility that one of the big players will take alarge share of the spotlight.

SEPT

29

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NATIONAL TACO DAY HALLOWEEN

NATIONAL NOODLE DAY

64

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31OCT 2016

OTHER EVENTS THIS MONTH1: World Vegetarian Day25: National Greasy Foods Day26: National Pumpkin Day28: National Chocolate Day

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PromotionsWHO?˃ Segment: QSR, FCR, CDR˃ Cuisine: bar and grill, Mexican

WHAT?˃ Deals, bar specials, multiperson meals, LTO

news, featured items

EXAMPLES:˃ Taco Cabana: annual one-day special for a free

Chicken Fajitas Taco˃ Rubio’s: free taco with purchase of any

sustainable-seafood taco and a beverage˃ Tijuana Flats: $2 regular tacos and $1 beers all

day

Create more awareness around signature items, new and revamped items and ongoingpromos like happy hours. Taco Cabana regularly offers free Chicken Fajitas Tacos onNational Taco Day, and complements that with deals such as bounce-back coupons todrive repeat visits. Since the free taco offer is only available during early evening hours, it’salso a great chance for the chain to promote and encourage trial of its regular happy hourdeals during the same time period. However, operators should note that restaurants withexisting Taco Tuesday promos will add more competition on this food holiday for 2016.

OCT

4

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PromotionsWHO?˃ Segment: QSR, FCR, CDR, MSR, RMS ˃ Cuisine: Family casual, Italian, Asian/noodle

WHAT?˃ Freebies, deals, bounce-back offers, kids eat

free, catering, LTO news, product awareness

EXAMPLES:˃ Noodles & Company: National Noodle Day

Lucky Bowl scratcher promotion offering chances to win free noodles for a year and other prizes over a 20-day period

Not yet widely celebrated, National Noodle Day definitely has potential in the comingyears for the growing number of operators specializing in noodle dishes. Italian pastas,Asian stir-fries, ramen, pho—there’s a proliferation of noodle specialties on menus acrossthe country, particularly in fast casual. National Noodle Day presents a great opportunityfor chains to promote brand awareness and signature offerings through creative socialmedia marketing and modest, targeted deals like BOGOs and bounce-back offers. It’s alsoa great occasion for health-focused brands to promote trend-forward veggie noodles.

OCT

6

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PromotionsWHO?˃ Segment: QSR, FCR, CDR, MSR, FDR, RMS˃ Cuisine: bar and grill, family casual, steak,

coffee café, bakery café, pizza, dessert, snack, beverage

WHAT?˃ Deals, kids eat free, delivery, LTO news, contests

EXAMPLES:˃ IHOP: returned Scary Face Pancakes for month

of October and offered them for free for kids on the 30th

˃ Starbucks: rolled out new Frappula Frappuccino, available for three days only

OCT

31

Three things surface when looking at restaurant promos for Halloween from year to year: kidseat free, costume contests and delivery deals on items like pizza. While traditional offers likeIHOP’s annual free Scary Face Pancakes will certainly continue to resonate with consumers,there’s opportunity for forward-looking brands to generate greater buzz and larger overallimpact by leveraging more contemporary types of promotions, such as Starbucks’ highlyengaging and super-limited vampire-inspired beverages.

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